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Report: Maryland Leads Nation In Underage College Drinking

This photo dated 12 Julu, 1998 shows a Chinese woman (R) beats an American man in an impromptu drinking contest at the '98 Qingdao International Beer Festival, China's biggest beer festival, which is being held in the former German concession Qingdao. China replaced the United States as the world's largest beer brewer for the first time ever in 2002, boosted by increasing incomes and population, according to a Japanese survey published 20 Aug, 2003. China produced 23,585,300 kilolitres (6,132,178,000 gallons) of beer in 2002, up 5.0 percent from the previous year, while US production grew only 0.7 percent to rank second, Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd said. China's beer production rose to quench the thirst of an increasing population and a spreading drinking habit among women. Living standards in China also improved, and high income earners in urban areas are more often dinng out and consuming beer. AFP PHOTO/Stephen SHAVER (Photo credit should read STEPHEN SHAVER/AFP/Getty Images)

A new study finds underage drinking in Maryland is higher than the rest of the country. (Getty Images)

BALTIMORE (AP) — A new study finds that underage college students in Maryland are significantly more likely to drink alcohol than those in other parts of the United States.

The Maryland Collaborative to Reduce College Drinking and Related Problems released the report this week. It found that 83 percent of underage students in Maryland used alcohol in the past year, compared with 75 percent elsewhere in the country.

There was no such geographical difference among students of legal drinking age.

The study also found that students in Maryland and elsewhere engaged in binge drinking to about the same extent.

The University System of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University led the group that produced the report. They recommend that colleges prohibit alcohol marketing in school-sponsored communications and events to combat excessive student alcohol use.

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